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The Lakewood Ranch-based home builder wants to buy their land regardless of size, zoning or location. He's not shy about it, either.

“If you have land, we want it,” Neal says. “You can even put my personal cellphone number in the newspaper. Make me an offer.”

Neal's proposal comes as land acquisitions in the region have slowed this summer, after a brisk pace at the start of this year and throughout 2013.

The slowdown is largely the result of rising prices and questions over sustained demand, which have prompted many other builders — even those who have previously matched Neal's aggressive posture — to pause.

But not Neal Communities.

The company is among a select group of home builders, together with Ashton Woods and Canada's Mattamy Homes, still assertively banking dirt for projects.

Most recently, Neal capped August off with a 110-acre purchase from Lakewood Ranch master developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc. for $8.3 million.

Neal intends to use the land, adjacent to his Central Park community, to construct 500 homes in a subdivision called Indigo. The homes will be priced in the mid-$200,000s and aimed at mostly retiring baby boomers, Neal said.

Seeing an opportunity

What began for some builders as a way during the Great Recession to take advantage of discounted property prices and lenders' willingness to shed foreclosed lots has morphed into a bolder — and riskier — strategy.

As preferred lots have dried up, builders such as Neal have had to get increasingly creative and, in some cases, move geographically farther away from traditional Southwest Florida population centers.

In many cases, available land being purchased by builders today will require extensive and expensive zoning changes before homes can be built.

It is a tricky truth for a volatile industry: Builders cannot make money without land, but land is also the one asset that can drown them fast, especially if they become overextended.

“While everyone else is running for cover, some — like Neal — see that as an opportunity,” said Jack McCabe, a Florida real estate analyst. “There's a ton of risk, and you better be well heeled if there's a downturn.

“Because it's these types of land holdings that put a lot of developers in bankruptcy.”

For its part, Neal made its mark during the Great Recession by gobbling up failed boom-time development sites for pennies on the dollar, at a time when most builders continued to sit on the sidelines.

The push has left Pat Neal, a former banker and GOP lawmaker, with ample property to build on now that the market is humming again.

For now, the bet seems to have paid off.

New home starts in Sarasota and Manatee counties rose to their highest level in the second quarter since the foreclosure crisis began battering the industry six years ago.

The 988 local homes to break ground from April to June were up 19.6 percent from the first three months of 2014 and nearly 9 percent ahead of the same time in 2013, according to industry researcher Metrostudy.

But Neal's appetite for raw land has not ebbed, leaving some to wonder whether he now suffers from the same overzealous thinking that pushed many competitors into financial ruin in the late 2000s.

The difference, Neal says, is that he pays cash for his land, while the last local land rush was fueled by bank debt that ultimately pushed some over the edge.

“We build the entire project on paper before we ever buy a single piece of property,” Neal said. “We're pretty scientific about it.

“We're also more careful than the public companies because, well, it's my money.”

Land is risky

Since the start of 2013, Neal has closed on 16 land deals — ranging from small cropland in Sarasota to hundreds of acres in Parrish — mostly from financial institutions.

But lately, he has turned to private property owners. In Bradenton, Neal bought 40 acres on Pope Road for $3.2 million. He had earlier acquired another 47 acres on the same street for $1.8 million. At the southeast corner of Prospect Road and Whitfield Avenue, Neal spent $1.4 million for 43 acres, property records show.

The builder now controls enough raw land to develop about 12,100 future home sites, including 1,300 lots where houses are under construction. That equates to a 20 percent share of the entire Sarasota-Bradenton new home market.

Some of those lots he plans to develop himself; others he intends to steer through municipal and county development approval processes and then flip to national builders.

Neal says he will not spend more than 8 percent of the completed home price to purchase entitled lots. That benchmark dips to about 3 percent for raw dirt because it can contain hidden hurdles ranging from endangered wildlife to neighbor opposition that can stymie development.

He strives for a 22 percent internal rate of return.

Neal admits his strategy is a bold one, especially because the cost to carry land in taxes, insurance and maintenance can be enormous.

“You can always sell a home, at least at some price. That's not always the case with land,” Neal acknowledges. “Land is by far the most risky.”

Aggressive land grabs

Land value is often determined by the value of the homes that can be built on it.

As a general rule, a 1 percent change in home values results in a 3 percent change in finished lot values.

But even amid a turnaround in home prices, real estate experts say land remains the most volatile of all asset classes.

From 2000 to 2006, finished lot values in prime U.S. markets — including Southwest Florida — climbed an average of 162 percent. Once the housing bubble popped, though, average values declined 46 percent, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Even well into the recovery, land values would still need to rise another 21 percent to return to their peak of eight years ago.

Land is traditionally a more stable play in Southwest Florida, analysts say, because the market isn't solely dependent on job growth to drive new home development.

Instead, the area benefits from its status as a retirement haven to boost home sales and lift land prices.

“Land sellers are commanding a higher price,” said David Guarino, senior research analyst for Johns Burns.

“The ball is in their court, and they know the builders need it. But because future prices have been hard to project, it's been tougher and tougher to pencil in deals, so only a few are making that bet.”

Neal is not the only Southwest Florida builder making aggressive land grabs.

Mattamy Homes, Canada's largest home builder, charged into the Southwest Florida market in January by buying nearly 235 acres in Lakewood Ranch for $17.2 million, property records show.

Mattamy plans to build about 675 residences on the site through a mix of townhomes and single-family houses.

Five months later, the privately held company followed that deal up with an even bigger splash, when it bought the 9,600-acre Thomas Ranch near Venice.

There, the builder paid $86.25 million — a price out of even Neal's budget.

“It's really a long-term play, and that's how we see it,” said Ed Suchora, who heads Mattamy's Sarasota-Tampa division.

“As baby boomers age into their retirement years, Florida will be a destination, and we believe Sarasota will be a core market. There's not a lot of land available in this corridor, so it's a place where investment just makes sense.”

Ashton Woods Homes also has been on a land buying frenzy.

The Atlanta-based home builder has been incrementally buying up lots in the Rosedale Golf & Country Club and in the Palma Sola area of Bradenton.

Ashton Woods broke into the Southwest Florida market last year with the purchase of about 18 acres off Cattlemen Road, in Sarasota, for $3.35 million. The home builder already is selling models at its debut Whitaker Park community, a subdivision slated for 91 single-family homes.

Getting squeamish

Several others prominent builders have chosen to take a more conservative approach to land purchases in the past year.

Perhaps most notably, D.R. Horton, the nation's largest residential builder, has significantly pulled back on land purchases nationally, company filings show.

And Manatee-based builder Medallion Home, which had matched Neal's land buys throughout the downtown, has intentionally slowed its pace.

Like Neal, Medallion owner Carlos Beruff only pays cash for his lots. Only now, rising costs have left him squeamish.

“The prices have gone up a little more than we feel is reasonable,” Beruff said. “The supply also has somewhat been picked over. Everyone has quite a bit to digest now, and that will take a couple of years.

“We buy with the complete understanding that there will probably be another downturn before we get our use out of the lots."

<p>Pat Neal has a proposition for Southwest Florida cattle ranchers and farmers. </p><p>The Lakewood Ranch-based home builder wants to buy their land regardless of size, zoning or location. He's not shy about it, either.</p><p>“If you have land, we want it,” Neal says. “You can even put my personal cellphone number in the newspaper. Make me an offer.”</p><p>Neal's proposal comes as land acquisitions in the region have slowed this summer, after a brisk pace at the start of this year and throughout 2013.</p><p>The slowdown is largely the result of rising prices and questions over sustained demand, which have prompted many other builders — even those who have previously matched Neal's aggressive posture — to pause.</p><p>But not Neal Communities.</p><p>The company is among a select group of home builders, together with Ashton Woods and Canada's Mattamy Homes, still assertively banking dirt for projects.</p><p>Most recently, Neal capped August off with a 110-acre purchase from Lakewood Ranch master developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc. for $8.3 million.</p><p>Neal intends to use the land, adjacent to his Central Park community, to construct 500 homes in a subdivision called Indigo. The homes will be priced in the mid-$200,000s and aimed at mostly retiring baby boomers, Neal said.</p><p><b>Seeing an opportunity</b></p><p>What began for some builders as a way during the Great Recession to take advantage of discounted property prices and lenders' willingness to shed foreclosed lots has morphed into a bolder — and riskier — strategy. </p><p>As preferred lots have dried up, builders such as Neal have had to get increasingly creative and, in some cases, move geographically farther away from traditional Southwest Florida population centers.</p><p>In many cases, available land being purchased by builders today will require extensive and expensive zoning changes before homes can be built.</p><p>It is a tricky truth for a volatile industry: Builders cannot make money without land, but land is also the one asset that can drown them fast, especially if they become overextended.</p><p>“While everyone else is running for cover, some — like Neal — see that as an opportunity,” said Jack McCabe, a Florida real estate analyst. “There's a ton of risk, and you better be well heeled if there's a downturn.</p><p>“Because it's these types of land holdings that put a lot of developers in bankruptcy.”</p><p>For its part, Neal made its mark during the Great Recession by gobbling up failed boom-time development sites for pennies on the dollar, at a time when most builders continued to sit on the sidelines.</p><p>The push has left Pat Neal, a former banker and GOP lawmaker, with ample property to build on now that the market is humming again.</p><p>For now, the bet seems to have paid off.</p><p>New home starts in Sarasota and Manatee counties rose to their highest level in the second quarter since the foreclosure crisis began battering the industry six years ago.</p><p>The 988 local homes to break ground from April to June were up 19.6 percent from the first three months of 2014 and nearly 9 percent ahead of the same time in 2013, according to industry researcher Metrostudy.</p><p>But Neal's appetite for raw land has not ebbed, leaving some to wonder whether he now suffers from the same overzealous thinking that pushed many competitors into financial ruin in the late 2000s.</p><p>The difference, Neal says, is that he pays cash for his land, while the last local land rush was fueled by bank debt that ultimately pushed some over the edge.</p><p>“We build the entire project on paper before we ever buy a single piece of property,” Neal said. “We're pretty scientific about it.</p><p>“We're also more careful than the public companies because, well, it's my money.”</p><p><b>Land is risky</b></p><p>Since the start of 2013, Neal has closed on 16 land deals — ranging from small cropland in Sarasota to hundreds of acres in Parrish — mostly from financial institutions. </p><p>But lately, he has turned to private property owners. In Bradenton, Neal bought 40 acres on Pope Road for $3.2 million. He had earlier acquired another 47 acres on the same street for $1.8 million. At the southeast corner of Prospect Road and Whitfield Avenue, Neal spent $1.4 million for 43 acres, property records show.</p><p>The builder now controls enough raw land to develop about 12,100 future home sites, including 1,300 lots where houses are under construction. That equates to a 20 percent share of the entire Sarasota-Bradenton new home market.</p><p>Some of those lots he plans to develop himself; others he intends to steer through municipal and county development approval processes and then flip to national builders.</p><p>Neal says he will not spend more than 8 percent of the completed home price to purchase entitled lots. That benchmark dips to about 3 percent for raw dirt because it can contain hidden hurdles ranging from endangered wildlife to neighbor opposition that can stymie development.</p><p>He strives for a 22 percent internal rate of return.</p><p>Neal admits his strategy is a bold one, especially because the cost to carry land in taxes, insurance and maintenance can be enormous.</p><p>“You can always sell a home, at least at some price. That's not always the case with land,” Neal acknowledges. “Land is by far the most risky.”</p><p><b>Aggressive land grabs</b></p><p>Land value is often determined by the value of the homes that can be built on it. </p><p>As a general rule, a 1 percent change in home values results in a 3 percent change in finished lot values.</span></b></p><p>But even amid a turnaround in home prices, real estate experts say land remains the most volatile of all asset classes.</p><p>From 2000 to 2006, finished lot values in prime U.S. markets — including Southwest Florida — climbed an average of 162 percent. Once the housing bubble popped, though, average values declined 46 percent, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting.</p><p>Even well into the recovery, land values would still need to rise another 21 percent to return to their peak of eight years ago.</p><p>Land is traditionally a more stable play in Southwest Florida, analysts say, because the market isn't solely dependent on job growth to drive new home development.</p><p>Instead, the area benefits from its status as a retirement haven to boost home sales and lift land prices.</p><p>“Land sellers are commanding a higher price,” said David Guarino, senior research analyst for Johns Burns.</p><p>“The ball is in their court, and they know the builders need it. But because future prices have been hard to project, it's been tougher and tougher to pencil in deals, so only a few are making that bet.”</p><p>Neal is not the only Southwest Florida builder making aggressive land grabs.</p><p>Mattamy Homes, Canada's largest home builder, charged into the Southwest Florida market in January by buying nearly 235 acres in Lakewood Ranch for $17.2 million, property records show.</p><p>Mattamy plans to build about 675 residences on the site through a mix of townhomes and single-family houses.</p><p>Five months later, the privately held company followed that deal up with an even bigger splash, when it bought the 9,600-acre Thomas Ranch near Venice. </p><p>There, the builder paid $86.25 million — a price out of even Neal's budget.</p><p>“It's really a long-term play, and that's how we see it,” said Ed Suchora, who heads Mattamy's Sarasota-Tampa division.</p><p>“As baby boomers age into their retirement years, Florida will be a destination, and we believe Sarasota will be a core market. There's not a lot of land available in this corridor, so it's a place where investment just makes sense.”</p><p>Ashton Woods Homes also has been on a land buying frenzy.</p><p>The Atlanta-based home builder has been incrementally buying up lots in the Rosedale Golf & Country Club and in the Palma Sola area of Bradenton.</p><p>Ashton Woods broke into the Southwest Florida market last year with the purchase of about 18 acres off Cattlemen Road, in Sarasota, for $3.35 million. The home builder already is selling models at its debut Whitaker Park community, a subdivision slated for 91 single-family homes.</p><p><b>Getting squeamish</b></p><p>Several others prominent builders have chosen to take a more conservative approach to land purchases in the past year. </p><p>Perhaps most notably, D.R. Horton, the nation's largest residential builder, has significantly pulled back on land purchases nationally, company filings show.</p><p>And Manatee-based builder Medallion Home, which had matched Neal's land buys throughout the downtown, has intentionally slowed its pace.</p><p>Like Neal, Medallion owner Carlos Beruff only pays cash for his lots. Only now, rising costs have left him squeamish.</p><p>“The prices have gone up a little more than we feel is reasonable,” Beruff said. “The supply also has somewhat been picked over. Everyone has quite a bit to digest now, and that will take a couple of years.</p><p>“We buy with the complete understanding that there will probably be another downturn before we get our use out of the lots."</p>